The gun-oil air hadn't cleared yet.Even after Lucy had been dragged away, the base still trembled with the echo of Arora's shout.Every whisper carried her name; every eye avoided hers.
Jack stood in the middle of the hall, one hand hovering near his cheek.The red mark was fading, but the silence around it wasn't.He felt like the whole room had been branded with that moment.
Arora exhaled slowly, forcing her pulse back into rhythm."Everyone back to stations," she ordered. "Now."
Boots scraped, voices scattered.In less than a minute, the hall was empty except for Nick, Jack, and the hum of machines.
Arora turned to Jack. The storm in her eyes had softened into something unreadable."Come with me," she said simply.
They walked down the corridor — quieter now, the lights dimming toward the central command wing.Jack stayed a few steps behind her, head low, until he finally spoke."You didn't have to do that back there."
Arora didn't look at him. "Yes, I did."
He hesitated. "You called me your—"
She cut him off. "Don't read into words said in anger."
But her voice wasn't as sharp as she wanted it to be.
Nick, trailing behind them, muttered under his breath, "Could've fooled the rest of us."
"Nick," Arora warned.
He lifted his hands. "Right. Silent mode."
"Hold him with you," she ordered, her voice sharp as steel. "I'll bring the car around. Give him some juice… or hot chocolate. He needs to calm down."
She didn't glance back, but her grip on Jack's hand lingered for a heartbeat before she let go.
---
Nick watched her go, then turned to Jack, who looked pale and shaken. "Hot chocolate or juice?" he asked flatly.
"Hot chocolate, please," Jack murmured, his tone barely audible.
Nick snorted. "What are you, a kid?"
Jack frowned, eyes still clouded with confusion and shame. "Why? What's wrong with that?"
Nick rolled his eyes, already pouring a shot of gin. "You just got slapped in public, nearly harassed, and you're asking for hot chocolate? Drink this. It'll put some fire in you."
Jack hesitated, then took the glass — the burn of the alcohol hitting him like a wave.
It didn't take long for the first shot to become a second, then a third.
By the time Arora returned, the room reeked of liquor.
---
Her heels clicked sharply as she entered. "What the hell happened here?"
Nick shrugged lazily. "Nothing. He's just drunk."
Her gaze snapped toward Jack — slumped on the couch, cheeks flushed, head tilted to the side.
The moment she saw him, her anger erupted like wildfire.
"You idiot," she hissed, kneeling beside him. "He looks drugged, not drunk!"
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Relax. He'll be fine by morning."
Her eyes flashed dangerously. "You fed him gin, didn't you?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but her glare silenced him.
She brushed her fingers against Jack's forehead — warm, too warm — and something inside her twisted painfully.
"Dimwit Nick," she muttered under her breath, her voice trembling despite herself. "If anything happens to him, I'll bury you alive."
---
Arora turned back to Jack, gently brushing his hair away from his face. His lips moved slightly — a faint, slurred whisper.
"…baby…"
Her breath caught.
For a moment, the ruthless leader vanished, and only the woman remained — the one who had spent years surviving chaos but had never learned how to handle tenderness.
"Why do you make me feel this way," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the hum of the air conditioner.
But Jack didn't answer. He only smiled faintly in his sleep, as if dreaming of something safe.
She sighed, standing. "Let's take him to my room. He can't stay here like this."
Nick blinked. "To your room?"
Her glare shut him up instantly. "Do you want to die, Nick?"
He raised both hands in surrender. "Not particularly."
Arora turned back toward Jack, her expression softening again. "Come on, you troublesome boy," she murmured, lifting him carefully. "You really are going to be the death of me."
And for the first time that night, her voice didn't sound like that of a leader — but of someone afraid to lose something precious she never meant to find.
---
To be continued…